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2 Abraham Lincoln elected to the White House in 18606’4” tall, but seemed taller with his long legs and habit of wearing a high silk “stovepipe” hatborn to poor and illiterate parentshad a few months of formal schooling, but mostly educated himself

3 worked as a surveyor, shopkeeper, local postmaster, and merchantfound a path to success in law and politicsstudied law on his own and managed to get elected to the state legislatureleader of the Whig party in Illinoisafter one term in Congress, did not seek re-electionhad a strong stand against the Mexican-American War that alienated much of his constituency

4 concentrated instead on building his law practice campaigned vigorously for President Zachary Taylor who failed to give him a patronage jobconcentrated instead on building his law practicehad long believed slavery was an unjust institution that should be tolerated only to the extent the Constitution and long-standing tradition of sectional compromise requiredattacked Douglas’s plan of popular sovereigntyclaimed it broke with federal precedents for containment or control of the growth of slavery

5 found favor with the Republicans who appointed him to run for president in 1860his election would provoke southern secessionhad less experience relevant to a wartime president than any previous chief executivehad never been a governor, senator, cabinet officer, vice-president, or high-ranking military officehe identified wholeheartedly with the northern cause and could inspire others to make sacrifices for it

6 Civil War put the very principle of democracy on trialshowed the shortcomings of a purely white man’s democracy and brought the first hesitant steps toward black citizenshipit was the struggle to preserve and extend the democratic ideal

7 The Storm GathersLincoln’s election provoked the secession of seven states of the Deep Southdid not lead immediately to armed conflicttwo things had to happen:1.) final effort to defuse the conflict through compromise and conciliation had to fail2.) North needed to develop a firm resolve to maintain the Union by forcewas not clear until Fort Sumter that the sectional crisis would have to be resolved on the battlefield

8 The Deep South SecedesSouth Carolina – was the frontrunner of southern rights and proslavery agitation and the first state to secedeconstitutional theory behind secession:the Union was a “compact” among sovereign states, each of which could withdraw from the Union by the vote of a convention similar to the one that had ratified the Constitution in the first place

9 “cooperationists” – believed the slave states should act as a unitbut, South Carolina’s unilateral action set a precedent that weakened their causeby February 1, 1861 seven states had left the Union – South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texascalls for immediate secession in the Upper South were unsuccessfulleaders in the border slave states were more willing than those in the lower South to seek a sectional compromise

11 delegates from the Deep South met in Montgomery, Alabama (the temporary capital) on February 4 to establish the Confederate States of Americaacted as a provisional government and drafted a permanent constitutionmoderate leaders dominated the proceedings and defeated or modified some of the schemes of the radical faction of extreme southern nationalistsvoted down proposals to reopen the Atlantic slave trade, to abolish the 3/5 clause, and to prohibit the admission of free states to the new Confederacy

12 showed traditional southern interpretations:Vice-PresidentAlexander StephensPresidentJefferson Davisthe Confederate constitution was surprisingly similar to the U.S. Constitutionshowed traditional southern interpretations:central government was denied the authority to impose protective tariffs, subsidize internal improvements, or interfere with slavery in the stateswas required to pass laws protecting slavery in the territoriesprovisional president: Jefferson Davis (Mississippi)vice-president: Alexander Stephens (Georgia)men who had resisted secessionist agitation

13 moderation showed a desire to win support for the cause of secessionism in the reluctant states of the upper Southradical measures like reopening the slave trade were unpopular theremost Southerners had been opposed to dissolving the Union and repudiating their patriotic loyalty so long as there had been good reasons to believe slavery was safe from northern interferenceLincoln’s election caused Southerners to fear that Northerners would no longer keep their “hands off” southern slavery

15 the goal of the new converts to secessionism was not to establish a slaveholder’s utopia but to re-create the Union as it had been before the rise of the new Republican partyopted for secession only when it was clear that separation was the only way to achieve this goalonly justification for southern independence on which a majority could agree was the need for greater security for the “peculiar institution”

16 “the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man – that slavery – subordination to the superior race – is his natural condition” Confederate Vice-President Alexander Stephens

17 The Failure of Compromisemoderates in the North and border slave states were trying to find a compromise that would stop the secessionist tide before it could engulf the entire SouthCrittenden Proposalplan that was the focus of discussion, organized by Senator John Crittenden of Kentuckycalled to extend the protection of slavery in the southwestern territories and in any territory south of the line that might be acquiredrecommended federal compensation to the owners of escaped slavesconstitutional amendment that would prohibit the federal government from abolishing or regulating slavery in the statesThe Failure of Compromise

18 Republicans in Congress turned for guidance to the president-electWilliam Seward of New York leaned toward supporting a version of the Crittenden PlanRepublicans in Congress turned for guidance to the president-electLincoln refused to make public statements on the secession crisis, but was opposed to the extension of the compromise linehis resounding no stiffened the backbone of congressional Republicans who voted against compromise in committee

19 seceding states vowed in advance to support no compromise unless the majority of Republicans also endorsed itwanted to obtain guarantees that the northern sectional party would end its attacks on “southern rights”Republicans did agree to support Crittenden’s “un-amendable” amendment guaranteeing slavery would be immune from future federal actionRepublicans had always acknowledged that the federal government had no constitutional authority to meddle with slavery in the states

20 some blame Lincoln and the Republicans for causing an unnecessary war be rejecting a compromise that would have appeased southern pride without providing any immediate practical opportunities for the expansion of slaverythe South may have been satisfied with nothing less than federal protection of slavery in all territories and the active suppression of anti-slavery agitation in the North

21 was a mistaken northern notion that the secession movement was a conspiracy that reflected the will of only a minority of white SouthernersLincoln and the Free-Soilers believed that extending the Missouri Compromise line would not halt agitation for extending slavery to new areasonly way to resolve the crisis and to reunite “the house divided” was to remove any chance that slaveholders could enlarge their domainLincoln was convinced that backing down in the face of secessionist threats would undermine the democratic principle of majority rule

22 by Lincoln’s inauguration, seven states had seceded, formed an independent confederacy, and seized most federal forts and other installations in the Deep South without firing a shotJames Buchanan (the President before Lincoln) had denied the right of secession and refused to use “coercion” to maintain federal authorityStar of the West – sent to reinforce the federal garrison in Charleston Harbor, but turned back after being fired onsome opposed coercive action because they thought the nation might be better off if “the erring sisters” (the Deep South) were allowed “to depart in peace”And the War Came

23 when the northern business community realized conciliation would not keep the cotton states in the Union, they put their weight behind coercive measuresa temporary disruption of commerce was better than the permanent loss of the South as a market and source of raw materials

24 Lincoln called for a cautious and limited use of forcedefend federal forts and installations not yet in Confederate handswould not attempt to recapture the ones already takenonly four were still held by U.S. forces – two in the Florida Keys, Fort Pickens in northern Florida, and Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor

25 the Confederacy was demanding the surrender of Sumter the garrison was within reach of shore batteries and running low on suppliescould not hold out much longer and Lincoln had to decide whether to reinforce it or let it fall

26 April 4, 1861 – Lincoln ordered an expedition be prepared to bring food and other provisions to the troops in Charleston Harborhis orders to reinforce Fort Pickens in Florida had not been carried outsent word to the governor of South Carolina that the relief expedition was being sentConfederate authorities decided that sending provisions was a hostile act and attacked the fort

30 April 13, 1861 – Union forces under Major Robert Anderson surrenderedConfederate flag was raised over Fort SumterSouth had won a victory but had also assumed responsibility for firing the first shotLincoln knew that if the South was determined to fight for its independence, they would have to start by taking aggressive action

32 April 15, 1861 – Lincoln proclaimed that an insurrection against federal authority existed in the Deep Southcalled on the militia of the loyal states to provide 75,000 troopsVirginia then joined the Confederacy, followed by Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolinaslave states of the Upper South had been unwilling to secede just because Lincoln was elected, but now that they had been called on to provide troops to “coerce” other southern sates, they had to choose sides

34 by firing on the flag, the Confederacy united the NorthConfederates moved their capital from Montgomery to Richmond, Virginia

35 contained only eleven of the fifteen states where slavery was lawful border slave states of Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri were stopped through a combination of local Unionism and federal interventionKentucky – proclaimed its neutrality and eventually sided with the UnionLincoln who as careful to honor the neutrality, provoked the South into violating neutrality first by sending regular troops into the stateMaryland – surrounded the nation’s capital and was kept in the Union through the use of martial law to suppress Confederate sympathizersMissouri – endured the presence of regular troops and a pro-Union German immigrant population, who stymied the secession movementbrutal guerrilla fighting made wartime Missouri an unsafe and bloody place

36 General Robert E. Lee – neither a defender of slavery nor a southern nationalisthe followed Virginia out of the Union because he was the loyal son of a “sovereign state”General George Thomas – also from Virginia, chose the Union, believed the Union was indissolublethe two opposing sides would initially define the war less as a struggle over slavery than as a contest to determine whether the Union was indivisible